Hunter Valley crash survivor's demands of killer bus driver
A man who survived the devastating bus crash in the Hunter Valley in June 2023 that claimed the lives of 10 people has confronted the man who was behind the wheel with an emotional victim statement in court.
On that fateful day, Brett Button was transporting wedding guests to the reception venue when the bus flipped at a roundabout at Greta, with the crash claiming the lives of 10 people and injuring another 25 passengers.
As a result, Button, 59, has pleaded guilty to 19 charges, including dangerous driving occasioning death and grievous bodily harm, appearing before Newcastle District Court on Tuesday to hear emotional victim statements from survivors and family members of those who were killed.
Taking the stand to deliver his impact statement following a day and a half of hearings, one survivor demanded Button look at him before telling him he'd trapped him in a “bus of hell”.
“My friends didn’t deserve to die, the others didn’t deserve to die,” he said.
“The families here don’t deserve to be here. My future has been destroyed because of your actions. I can no longer be the person I was. The intergenerational trauma you have caused is enormous.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Steve Symons, whose son Kane died in the crash, fought back tears to tell Button about how his son had seized on a “second chance” after a childhood injury only to have it “cruelly” robbed from him.
“Kane’s death has shattered our lives. It has left an unrepairable void. He was a vibrant and ambitious young man who had been given a rare second chance at life,” Mr Symons told the court.
“He lived with an acute awareness of just how precious life is and embraced every moment of it. To lose him now after he was given that second chance at life is both cruel and unjust.”
Zachary Bray was also given a “second chance” after a battle with stage-3 bowel cancer, as his mother, Jackie, said he “always chose the right path” in another emotional statement.
“In many ways, Zac was the perfect child if there ever was one. He just wanted to please and did so his entire life, making his family, friends and colleagues proud in everything he did,” she said.
“He and his friends did what they were told to do: have a plan B. They trusted the bus driver would get them home safely, but my son who did everything right still didn’t make it home."
“Zac got a death sentence, and his family and friends got a life sentence.”
At least 35 people are expected to provide witness impact statements to the court during a marathon three-day sentence hearing that began on Monday morning before Judge Roy Ellis, who is expected to hand down his sentence to Button on Wednesday.
Andrew Scott, 35, and wife Lynan Scott, 33, Nadene McBride, 52, daughter Kyah McBride, 22, and her partner, Kane Symons, 21, Darcy Bulman, 30, Rebecca Mullen, 26, Zachary Bray, 29, Tori Cowburn, 29, and Angus Craig, 28, were killed in the crash on June 11th 2023, with the crash now known as one of Australia's worst ever fatal road incidents.
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